'It's a war' - Gabriel responds to Erling Haaland throwing ball at his head as Arsenal defender fires strong warning to whole Man City squad

Despite being reduced to ten men following Leandro Trossard's red card, Arsenal fought valiantly to hold onto a 2-1 lead until deep in stoppage time. However, City managed to claw their way back into the game with John Stones scoring the equaliser for Pep Guardiola’s side.

The late goal sparked tempers and a fired-up Haaland threw the ball at Gabriel’s head in a provocative gesture. After the final whistle, players from both teams exchanged heated words and Haaland was even caught on camera telling Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to “stay humble.”

However, Gabriel kept his composure and downplayed the incident after the match.

"I don’t even remember this," Gabriel remarked in an interview with TNT Sports Brazil.

"It’s normal, they were happy after scoring in the last minute. They were playing at home, so their duty was to win the match, but our team did really well to resist. It’s a battle, a war, so it’s normal to have provocative acts in football, it’s part of the game. Now this is over and we are waiting for them at our ground.”

The incident was reviewed by VAR at the time, but it was deemed not to be an act of violent conduct. As such, the FA has also decided not to impose any retrospective punishment on the Manchester City forward.

As the dust settles on this gripping encounter, the countdown has already begun to February 1, 2025, when Arsenal will host City at the Emirates Stadium in a reverse fixture that could have a big impact on the final destination of this season's Premier League title.